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[DO I WANNA KNOW]

1.02 || chapter two

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"Well hello friends and fans- Alright, let's do that again."

Zoey lightly drums her thumb against her thigh as she watches the video from Josh for what feels like the fiftieth time now. (It was the fourteenth. She was counting.) She swings her legs idly as she sits on the edge of the roof outside her bedroom window before lying back on the tiling as she listens to the video. She was pretty sure she'd watched it enough that there wasn't anything else to spot.

"What are you doing out there?" Zoey shifts up slightly, looking at Jess, who was leaning out of her bedroom window before dropping back with a sigh. "Is that the video from Josh? Are you going?" Jess questions. And then, before Zoey can even open her mouth she cuts in with, "Who am I kidding? Of course you are. Josh asked you to come so you'll go." Jess says.

"That sounded a little more snide than necessary." Zoey remarks after a beat of silence stretches between them both.

"Well, going back doesn't sound like all that great of an idea." Jess responds and Zoey hums.

"Because Emily will be there and you moved in on Mike or because it's where you helped orchestrate a prank that ended with two of our friends going missing?" Zoey asks without sitting up, tilting her head to the side slightly when Jess doesn't immediately respond. "Who am I kidding? It's probably both, right? Avoidance on all fronts." She says.

"Okay, I kind of get the feeling you're not in the mood for a conversation right now." Jess says and Zoey hums softly.

"Really? What gives you that idea, Jess? Is it the tone of my voice or the fact that I was trying to peacefully lie on the roof of my house instead of in my bedroom?" Zoey asks.

"Mostly A." She retorts and Zoey hums softly. "I'd ask if you want to drive together but 'no' feels like a safe bet." 

"I'm gonna try and leave early and catch Josh before he leaves." Zoey says and Jess frowns slightly at her. 

"You know he'll be there at the lodge, right?" She asks.

"Wait, oh my God! Really?" Zoey asks dryly, turning to look at Jess.

"Okay, good night, Zoey." She says before pushing her window shut and Zoey sighs, turning her head back up to look at the sky whilst she grabs her phone, her thumb moving to the rewind.

And that made it fifteen.

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Zoey stretches her arms up over her head as she waits for Chris to step off the bus behind her, glancing at him briefly as the bus pulls away. "Was it colder on the bus?" Chris asks and Zoey shrugs a little.

"I think so. I don't how but I think so." She responds as they walk up to the gate and Zoey pushes it open. "M'lady." 

"Thank you." Chris responds lightly and Zoey offers him a brief curtsey in response before following him through the gate with an amused smile, pushing it shut behind her. "Hey, so have you seen anyone but Jess recently?" 

Zoey glances over at him from where she'd been scanning the trees before shaking her head a little. "Well, I saw Sam the other week. I haven't seen Josh in ages. Everyone else, well, I wasn't exactly going out of my way to see them. Especially Mike." Zoey says.

"For like the nicest person I know, your hate for Mike is actually impressive." Chris says and she hums softly.

"I aim to please." She responds lightly, looking around again as Chris opens the gate. 

Or, tries to anyway.

"Are you kidding me?"

Zoey turns back to look at Chris with a slight frown when she sees him pushing at the gate. "Having trouble there?" She asks.

"Gate's stuck." He responds. 

"Is it?" She asks and he looks over at her.

"Please." He responds, gesturing at it as he steps backwards and Zoey moves over to it instead.

"You know, sometimes it's okay being the damsel in distress." She remarks lightly.

"You're hilarious, Zo." He responds as she tries to open the gate.

And fails.

"Huh, that really is stuck." Zoey says as she pushes against the gate.

"Oh, look who's laughing now." Chris retorts and she glances at him with a slight frown. "How are we getting in?" 

"Uh, mighty good question." Zoey responds, looking around as she steps back before pausing and tilting her head. "Hey, you know how you suck at climbing?" 

"I mean, that was uncalled for, but yes?" Chris responds and Zoey hums softly before pointing at the wall beside the gate. "Are you kidding me?" 

"Well, I don't have an alternative for you." She responds, looking over at him. "Unless you have another option."

"No." He responds after a beat and she nods. 

"Got any paper? Should probably leave a note for anyone else." Zoey says as she moves over to the wall.

"Uh, yeah, but no pen." He responds as he opens his bag and Zoey drags the front zip of her bag open to grab the pen inside it.

"Here." She tosses the pen towards him, pressing her lips together when she watches him fumble with it before it lands on the ground, looking back up at him.

"Shut up." He responds and she laughs softly with a slight headshake before zipping her bag back up and tossing it over the wall. "Is this a glitter pen?" He asks and Zoey looks back over at him.

"You got a problem with that?" Zoey asks and he shakes his head.

"Nope. Not at all." He responds and she hums, narrowing her eyes at him briefly as he sticks the note to the gate, putting the cap back on her pen.

"Give me a boost up?" Zoey asks.

"What about me?" He asks and she glances at him again before shrugging. 

"I dunno. That sounds like your problem. Now come here. There's no way I'm making it over that wall without a boost." Zoey says and Chris huffs before walking over to her, putting his bag down so his hands would be free to boost her up. She grabs his shoulder as she plants her foot on his hands. "You got me?"

"Yep! Totally got this." He responds and she raises a brow at him briefly.

"Don't drop me." 

"I'm not promising anything." 

Zoey huffs out a soft laugh before pushing up off Chris' hand, grabbing onto the wall to pull herself up the rest of the way. "You better not be looking up my skirt!" She calls as she gets over the top of the wall.

"I'm hurt you'd think that." Chris responds and she hums briefly as she drops down on the other side of the wall.

"You might want to throw your bag over first." Zoey suggests as she crouches down to grab hers before squealing slightly as she dodges out of the way of his bag just before it hits her. "Chris! A little warning please! You nearly took my head off!" Zoey exclaims.

"Oh, sorry. I figured you'd have already moved." He responds and she shakes her head a little with a huff as she slings her bag strap over her shoulder.

She rocks slightly on her heels as she watches Chris pull himself up over the wall before tracking him as he drops down in front of her, smiling slightly in amusement when he lands on his ass in front of her. "Don't say a word." He says as he gets up.

"I would never." Zoey responds, barely masking the laughter in her voice. 

"I hate you." 

"You love me. Don't lie to yourself like that, Hartley."

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"Hello?"

Zoey looks up from her phone before smiling slightly at Sam when she sees her walking up from where she was sat beside Chris' bag, waiting for him to stop aimlessly snooping around. "Hey, Sam!" Zoey says.

"Hey, I saw yours and Chris' note on the gate." Sam says as she walks over to her and Zoey frowns.

"How'd you know it was from both of us?" Zoey asks, tilting her head a fraction.

"Uh, the glitter pen." Sam responds.

"Oh, right. Yeah, that makes sense." Zoey nods and Sam hums softly.

"Chris here or did he turn into a bag?" Sam asks and Zoey shrugs.

"He's somewhere. I don't know. Probably poking at something he shouldn't." Zoey responds lightly, glancing back down at her phone briefly, watching as Sam zips up Chris' bag beside her.

"Chris!" Sam calls.

"Sam! Hey, you made it." Zoey glances back up at them both when Chris reappears, raising a brow briefly at him. 

"What were you doing?" Zoey asks.

"Oh! So, I found something kinda amazing." Chris says and Zoey hums a little, tilting her head at him.

"Is it kinda amazing by our standard or by your standard?" Zoey retorts.

"Everyone's standard." Chris responds and Zoey hums.

See, why didn't she believe that?

"What?" Sam asks as Chris picks up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder.

"I'm not gonna tell you, you gotta see it for yourself. Come on. It's this way." Chris responds as he starts walking off and Zoey raises a brow briefly.

"I think I'm gonna wait here for our ride. But you kids have fun looking at whatever he found." Zoey says and Sam hums at her briefly with a slight smile before following the boy.

Zoey hums softly as she idly plays a game on her phone, waiting for the cable car to arrive or for Chris to lose interest in whatever he'd found. Whichever came first. And she was putting her money on the cable car because she was pretty sure they'd just gone in the direction of the mini shooting range.

She pauses slightly mid-tap when she hears a gunshot ring out behind her, glancing up briefly before shaking her head with a slight sigh as she looks back at her phone. 

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Zoey doesn't bother looking up again until the cable car arrives, switching off her phone and shoving it in the front pocket of her bag as she gets up, looking over at Sam and Chris as they round the corner. "Find Mr Washington's little shooting range by chance?" Zoey asks.

"What gave it away?" Sam responds and Zoey hums softly. 

"Man, it is- It's definitely weird coming back up here after a whole year." Chris says after a moment and Zoey glances at him.

"I'm trying not to think about it or I'd probably just have stayed home." Zoey responds and Chris nods a little.

"Yeah. I swear, the moment I got here it just all came flooding back." Sam says and Zoey hums softly before the blonde tries to open the door. "Hey, that's weird. Door's locked." 

"Yeah, Josh wanted us to keep it locked, keep people out." Chris responds and Sam turns to look at them. 

"He said that? What people?" Sam questions.

"I don't know. He said they found people sleeping in the station one time." Chris explains as he holds up the key for the door. 

"That's creepy." Sam remarks as Chris unlocks the door for them, pushing it open.

"After you." Chris says, gesturing to the doorway.

"Oh, why thank you." Zoey responds lightly.

"A real gentleman." Sam chimes in and Zoey hums softly as Chris shuts the door, locking it behind them. 

Zoey leans against the railing beside Sam as they wait for the cable car to reach them, watching as Chris wanders around the station. "Ugh, I thought the car was closer." Sam complains and Zoey glances over her shoulder briefly out towards the cable car.

"Guess we gotta wait." Chris responds and Zoey hums softly.

"It's not that far out." She remarks lightly, looking forwards again.

"I'm starting to get the appeal of killing time at the shooting range." Sam says and Zoey tilts her head a little.

"Angry Birds was good too." Zoey says and Sam glances at her with an amused smile and a hum.

"What a crazy place to set up house. No matter how rich you are." Chris remarks and Zoey looks back over at him in the office of the station.

"They're not so rich. They only bought a mountain!" Sam retorts and Zoey snorts lightly in amusement as she rolls her shoulders, tilting her head back briefly.

"How long is this gonna take?" Sam asks as Chris walks back over to them.

"It's a big mountain." Chris responds and Zoey hums softly.

"Yeah. It's so beautiful in the day, but at night it just feels menacing, like a sleeping giant." Sam comments and Zoey glances at her briefly.

"You gonna publish?" Chris asks and Zoey looks back at him with a frown.

"What?" Sam questions.

"Your pretty poem. 'The Sleeping Giant of Blackwood Forest'." Chris says and Zoey rolls her eyes, lightly punching his shoulder. 

"Oh, shut up." Sam responds.

"Don't be an ass." Zoey says and he shrugs as she tilts her head to the side, watching the cable car as it finally arrives before pushing away from the railing.

"Finally. You coming?" Sam asks.

"Well, I was gonna stay here and catch some z's, but okay." Chris responds as Sam steps onto the cable car just after Zoey, sitting down beside her. "Just like going to the prom." Chris remarks as he sits down and Zoey raises a brow. 

"Yeah, so much like going to the prom." She responds dryly and he rolls his eyes at her. 

"You know what I mean." Chris responds as the cable car jolts slightly as it moves away from the station.

"Here we go." Sam says lightly. 

"Right! Adventure begins." Chris responds and Zoey nods a little, glancing out the window briefly.

"I hope this was the right thing to do." Sam says and Chris and Zoey both look over at her.

"What?" Chris asks.

"You know, getting everyone together on the anniversary. I mean, Josh seemed really pumped about us all doing something, didn't he?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, no, he definitely did!" Chris responds.

"I mean, I wouldn't be here if he didn't." Zoey adds.

"I haven't seen him so excited about something in forever." Chris says.

"He is right. I haven't heard him this excited in a while now." Zoey says and Chris nods, gesturing at her. 

"Good, good. It's hard to tell with him and I've kinda been worried." Sam says.

"No, no, it was- it was a good idea." Chris says and Zoey nods a little.

"Yeah, I definitely think it was a good idea." Zoey agrees, looking at Sam briefly.

"I hope everybody else feels the same way." Sam says and Zoey hums softly, leaning against the side of the cable car. 

"We're all here aren't we?" Chris responds.

"Certainly seems so." Zoey responds.

"Thanks, bro. Good talk." Sam says lightly, punching Chris arm gently and Zoey smiles a little.

"You know what? Let's just- Let's just stop talking about what happened and enjoy the trip." Chris suggests and Zoey nods.

"Yeah, that sounds good. All for that plan." Zoey says.

"You know what? You're right." Sam responds, glancing at Zoey briefly with a small smile.

"You know how Josh and I met?" Chris asks, looking over at the two girls.

Zoey shakes her head a little with a slight frown as Sam says, "No?"

"Third Grade. Josh sat in the back of the room, I sat in the front. We didn't even know each other existed. But the kid sitting next to Josh started strap snapping the training bra on the girl in front of him so the teacher made him move to the front. Where I was sitting!" Chris explains and Zoey hums with a slight frown.

"Okay, so?" Sam prompts.

"So, I got moved to the back!" Chris says.

"And?"

"And next to Josh! That's how we met! And became friends. To this day." Chris explains and Zoey nods a little.

"A match made in heaven." Sam says and Zoey smiles in amusement.

"If it weren't for the fact that Jeanie Simmonds hit puberty like three years early and on that day decided to wear a low cut shirt that showed off her training bra," Chris starts.

"Or if the guy sitting beside Josh hadn't been a massive tool?" Zoey suggests lightly.

"Yeah, exactly! I mean, who knows? You guys could be riding in this cable car without me. Right now. Or talking to some other person entirely." Chris says and Zoey hums.

"Hopefully not the tool who was strap snapping Jeanie Simmonds' training bra." Zoey remarks.

"Well, hopefully." Sam agrees and Zoey hums softly.

"Right, but, boom! Butterfly effect." Chris finishes and Zoey nods a little.

"Butterfly effect." Zoey mutters softly.

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